


Number 6 and Number 8

by Demigod2405



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: (Ish) - Freeform, Asexual Character, Deaf Character, F/M, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, no beta we die like ben
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2020-10-17 02:47:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20613683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demigod2405/pseuds/Demigod2405
Summary: She paused, looking at him for approval, he nodded his consent and she gently grasped his hand and turned it over. Sparing a glance at the ‘GOODBYE’ tat on his palm, she ran her hand over his Academy Tattoo----------She turned to Klaus and said ‘Brother’.





	Number 6 and Number 8

It was almost relaxing the way her chest rose and fell with her breaths. It was something simple to focus on when everything got out of control. And that was often.

Having power was a hard thing to deal with. Sometimes it was a blessing, like when she helped a deaf person hear again, but it could also be a curse, like when she burst a bystanders ear drums because she was a little frustrated. Meditation and yoga had helped a little, music helped more. Noise cancelling headphones were a permanent fixture on her. Not with music blasting – too dangerous – but with white noise. Rain was a favourite, thunder storms another. When travelling in the city, a track of the hustling and busting of the city was on loop. No people though, no voices, just mindless noise. It worked for her – that was the important thing.

Next Monday was the towns bake sale in the church. It was the annual McMillian coffee morning. A fund raising event, where a cancer support charity encouraged people to have coffee mornings at work, with friends and families or within their community. The funds raised went to the charity to help them support families dealing with cancer. She had lost an auntie to cancer so her and her family supported the charity that supported them.

Apparently the highlight was going to be the new neighbours. A lovely gay couple had moved in up the lane and across the lake from her. They were very sweet with each other and where the talk of the town. The smaller of the two was quite flamboyant in his style and his personality – not quite what their little town was used too. His husband was the poster boy for ‘a good American boy’ and seemed the others complete opposite. They still worked well together though. Grocery shopping was always fun when they were in the store. Other people told her that shouts of glee over a new product was common and watching the larger blonde man curl a hand around his husbands’ hip at the registers was apparently aww inducing.

They had moved into the house/cottage across the lake from her and their property lines ran together. The day after they moved in, they had swung round with an invite to tea for her. Assuring her that they weren’t going to push the boundary line of their properties or throw loud raves all night long. ‘Do tell us if we go too far’ was said along with ‘it can be hard to rein his ideas in when he gets going’. At least that’s what her lip reading came out as. Once they realised what she was doing, they made sure to always be facing her if they spoke. A lovey gesture from two lovely gentleman. She could tell that the one with raven hair was a past addict, the track marks on his arms matched the ones left on her auntie after all the chemo injections. Still his eyes where clear and his speech measured so she felt ok in his presence.

One down side to them and the reason she didn’t spend much time with them as they had invited her too, was that when around them her headphones would short out and her white noise would cut out. It was highly annoying. Whenever it cut out, she almost heard whispers around her. Some the same as before, some different. There was always one constant one though. Snarky and sarcastic, often criticizing whatever she had said or done before hand. It was nothing she wasn’t used to, her enhanced hearing causing her to hear things that weren’t there was the reason she got the noise cancelling headphones in the first place.

Still, un-nerving. It did give her a view into their lives though. When the voices did reach tipping point and screams got to piercing level, she noticed that Klaus often reacted too. Rubbing his ear or wincing a little but then carrying on like normal. Huh. Maybe it had something to do with his childhood? He was a German man by blood, He had laughed in her face when she had told him Klaus was German for ‘the peoples’ victory’ and Dave had had to whack him on the arm to get him to stop, and he had expressed an ability to speak the language the first time she had praised his outfit and he had explained his thanks with a loud ‘danken!’ Something happen in Germany and he moved to America? She refused to pry so she kept quiet.

Another thing they gave her a view of was mates in action. The picture on Daves’ inner forearm was a kaleidoscope of colour and took the form of a planchette made of dark wood but with a stained glass centre full of colour. It was beautiful. Klaus never sat still long enough for her to see his mark. See what colourful thing told him Dave was his. The opportunity didn’t come until about an hour or two after the bake sale started. Neither of the boys had baked anything, Dave preferring to cook and Klaus being an ‘Explosion waiting to happen’ according to Dave. They did buy a load of the cakes though. Enough for a very large family and then some. Most of it was packaged up and the men gave addresses for each box they ended with, offering to pay for shipping at the same time, her lip reading skills were put to the test as she had a hard time keeping up with him. She finally made out something like ‘My siblings’ darling, they need a box each – you know what their like. Oh and a box for Diegos’ precinct, a box for Princess Claire – find some strawberry cupcakes for her could you babe? The orchestra needs at least a box or two per section so that’s like 19 at least, maybe 20 – one cake for the composer yeah! Who else? Oh and one for Mum and Pogo. That’s at least, 20…7…2…1…30 over all! Ladies and Gents get your cakes ready!’ She had to laugh quietly at that. Klaus was so open and flamboyant, dragging Dave along by the hand. The boxes in Daves hands where growing as Klaus kept adding to their own pile of treats.

It was once they reached her and her cupcake decorating station that she got her chance to see the mark on his arm. She had set up a station to decorate your own cupcakes. She had vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. Klaus proceeded to plonk him-self down in the small plastic chairs she had put out for the kids, he claimed the purple one and pulled Dave to sit in the Light blue one although she noticed that he pulled the black one out but left it empty. She smiled when he dragged the tray with strawberry cupcakes towards him – all of them – and started to dump frosting and glitter onto them. Artistically sure but a little slap dash. Dave was more precise with his decorating but it still followed the same pink and glitter formula. Claire must be a young one if the title and decorating style was to go by. The mark on his arm became visible when he reached for a new can of frosting she had at the back of the table, away from small arms and sticky fingers. Her eyes caught the sight of his inner forearm. A black circle with a black umbrella inside. She knew that symbol. The world knew that symbol. The Umbrella Academy. Klaus was one of the Umbrella Academy. Made sense really. She wasn’t really surprised. But it did change things.

Once back in her house, she picked up the phone and called her sister. Her Twin. Born milliseconds apart on the same day and time as the 41 other children around the world. Including Klaus. Her sister was as pleasant as ever, surprised to be called outside of their allotted time. It was a short phone call, her sister having clients to get back to and her a meeting to arrange, but she still got her sister to agree to fly down from New York the next morning to meet Klaus together. The next call of business was to arrange a meeting with Klaus and Dave and maybe that Ghost that hung around Klaus. It had to be a ghost, the more she thought the more sure she was. The ghosts electrical magnetic presence messed with most electronics – causing her headphones to cut out, they gave off a cold aura – Klaus was always cold to the touch and their house had random cold spots that seemed to move, The stronger ones could express themselves verbally – the noises and voices she could hear when her headphones cut out. After spending an hour or two researching The Academy and their history she came to the conclusion that the Spirt that hung around Klaus, the one with snarky comments, the one that Klaus pulled chairs out for and put a slice of cake in front of without thinking, had to be his brother – Ben. The Horror. This was getting complex.

It was early evening when she made the small trek around the lake towards the front door of Klaus and Daves’ cottage. She noticed that the door had been repainted from its old off-white to a soft and warm dark green. It matched the trellises blanketing the front wall. It was mostly ivy but the front porch had had some peachy roses planted at the base - obviously meant to grow up and around the porch. The pathway from the road to the house had been ripped up and some new slabs had been cemented in, smoother than before and easier to walk on. The grass was freshly cut and trimmed, the worn down patches had been sprayed with something and had netting over them, grass re-growth protection. The men where here to stay then.

Knocking on their door took longer than she would have liked and once she had she felt like turning around and leaving. Dave opened the door before she could. He seemed surprised to see her but ultimately invited her inside. He led her through an airy powder blue kitchen into the conservatory that faced the lake. Klaus was sitting on a stool in the far right corner, a canvas in front of him, covered in oil paint, crafted to look like a brooding Latino in what looked like a boxing ring. He was mid punch in the painting, the Umbrella Academy tattoo visible on his arm. A painting like that would normally be all dark and brooding but Klaus had painted in in light shades, sunlight from the celling floating down onto the man, highlighting the sweat and power on his skin. It looked almost fun, the man had a smile on his face and while he had power coiled in his arms, his shoulders were loose and relaxed. Like he knew he was being photographed. And he was – there was a photo taped to the board on the side of the easel, a reference pic.

She turned her attention to Klaus and saw him looking at her with a smile. He was all lit up when he said ‘Diego, brother numero dos’ Number Two, The Kraken. The one with the precinct so a cop or detective then. Looked like it. Once Klaus had placed all his messy items down and taken off his apron, she reached towards him resting her hand just above his left hand. She paused, looking at him for approval, he nodded his consent and she gently grasped his hand and turned it over. Sparing a glance at the ‘GOODBYE’ tat on his palm, she ran her hand over his Academy Tattoo. Sucking in a breath was enough strength for her to reach up and remove her headphones, flooding her brain with noise. The birds out-side and the soft record in the other corner were most prominent. It was the record she focused on. Reaching out a hand, she turned the music down until it was almost gone before turning it back up for Klaus. He clutched his ears but was confused when Dave gave no reaction. Only for her to swap their positions, turning it up for Dave and down for Klaus. Once she levelled the music out to what it was, she turned to Klaus and said ‘Brother’.

A hug was what followed. A long hug between her and her brother. Dave relocated them to the living room couch and went to make tea. It was only once they were all curled up with mugs in hand that she asked if Ben was there. They looked at her like she had grown a second head. She explained her thought process to them before looking at the armchair next to the sofa. It was giving of a cold chill and had slight indents in it. Someone was sitting in it but they weren’t heavy – or corporal - enough to make proper indents. That soon changed though, as a blue glow came from Klaus and the chair. A form appeared in the chair, a boy in early twenties maybe came into view. Black, black on black clothes and a smirk on his face. She found it a little rude that he had swung his body round and dangled his legs of the side, this was not his hous- it was though wasn’t it? As a new ghost, what better person to attach to than your medium brother? Ben most likely stayed here with Klaus and Dave, where he could be dead and creepy all he wanted without judgement.

That wasn’t on her mind now though as on his left forearm was a symbol. A Symbol she recognised. When she and her sister were little they had created a beautiful kingdom on their bedroom walls. Drawn by her sister where two castles – one of gold, one of rose gold – dragons nestled on the towers, knights in one castle made of chess pieces, the other castle held playing card soldiers. On the banners flying high above where two symbols, one for her and one for her sister. Complimentary symbols matching in style but not design. Ben had her symbol on his arm, it was a shimmering rose gold, tinted with the ‘slight’ blue of his skin. She hesitantly lifted up her sleeve to see her own forearm. An open book rested on her skin, it was scarred after his death but now she properly looked – she saw the skin under the scars was ever so slightly colours, shifted between blue and green as she twisted her arm in the light. Her mate was dead yet sitting in front of her. This was going to be an interesting meeting.

Things were going pretty smoothly given the revelations of the past week. Her sister had arrived the morning after and was ecstatic to meet her sisters’ mate – even if she could phase through him sometimes. Klaus was also ecstatic to learn of her sisters’ power. The ability to create any picture - not matter how realistic – from nothing. No pencils, no chalk or ink required. She could also see pictures in your mind by touching you. This made her job as a Tattoo Artist very appropriate. Clients always got what they wanted. Klaus seemed to perk up at that before a look from Dave had him backing down again.

Ben was a whole other thing she was dealing with. It was weird to see her mate in front of her but not really _there_. It was nice to sit with him though and talk about all the books she’d read in her life. It was nice being with him. She supposed that him being dead actually helped their ‘relationship’. There was no pressure to ‘get together’ or to go further than they were now. They couldn’t. It relaxed her mind to know that he wouldn’t be able to force her into anything – for that had always been a fear of hers. A previous boyfriend had taken her Asexuality as a personal attack on his sex skills and had tried to show her how ‘good’ he was and that he could totally ‘fix’ her. That was a pretty fast break up. News flash arseholes – she wasn’t broken, you can’t fix her. Ben didn’t care in the slightest – good. Klaus on the other had was, again, ecstatic to find another LGBTQIA+ member in their small town. It was nice having a small and happy family to fall back on. She only hopes the rest of the Hargreaves were as welcoming – probably not.


End file.
